GR A 



264 



GRA 



The fourth spring in February remove 

 the 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 buds, bending the 

 shoots down horizontally thus: 



Fig. 73. 



succession. This method recommends i 

 itself by its simplicity, by the old wood 

 of the vine being annually got rid of, 

 by the small number of wounds inflicted 

 in the pruning, by the clean and hand- 

 some appearance of the vine, and by 

 the great ease with which it is managed, 

 in consequence of its occupying but a 

 small portion of the wall. i 



" 1st. In pruning, always cut up- ' 

 wards, and in a sloping direction. 



"2d. Always leave an inch of blank 

 wood beyond the terminal bud, and letj 

 the cut be on the opposite side of the ; 

 bud. i 



"3d. Prune so as to leave as few and training the shoots from buds 3 and 

 wounds as possible, and let the surface 7 as there represented. Prune and train 

 of every cut be perfectly smooth. ] as before directed during the summer, 



"4th. In cutting out an old branch, j removing also superfluous shoots, and 

 prune it even with the parent limb, that , in November cut back a and c to about 

 the wound may quickly heal. eight or tvi-elve buds according to the 



" 5tli. Prune so as to obtain thequan- I stiength of the vine; and 6 and d so as 

 tity of fruit desired on the smallest I to leave only one bud on each. In the 

 number of shoots possible. \fif'^ spring train the shoots from these 



" 6th. Never prune in frosty weather, 

 nor when a frost is expected. 



" 7th. Never prune in the months of 

 March, April, or May. Pruning in either 

 of these months causes bleeding, and 

 occasions thereby a wasteful and an in- 

 jurious expenditure of sap. 



" 8th. Let the general autumnal prun- 

 ing take place as soon after the 1st of 

 October as the gathering of the fruit 

 will permit. 



"Lastly, use a pruning-knife of the 

 best description, and let it be, if pos- 

 sible, as sharp as a razor." — Hoare on 

 the V'qie. 



In the spring next after the planting, 

 two buds only having been left, reinove 

 the one which shoots the most weakly, 

 and rub off all others but 

 Fig. 72. that one selected to re- 

 main as often as they ap- 

 pear. Nail the shoot to 



single buds in the same waving form as 

 before. 



" The vine," says Mr. Hoare, to 

 whose valuable work I am indebted 

 for most of the preceding directions, 

 " has now assumed the form which it 

 is permanently to retain, and the man- 

 ner in which it is trained may be con- 

 sidered as the commencement of a sys- 

 tem of alternately fruiting two shoots, 

 and training two at full length for bear- 

 ing wood in the following year; which 

 method may be continued every year 

 without any alteration until the capacity 

 of the vine is equal to the maturation 

 of more fruit than can possibly be borne 

 by two single shoots, which, on an aver- 

 age, may be estimated at sixty pounds 

 weight annually. Several years must 

 elapse before this will be the case ; but 

 when it is, the arms may be easily 



engthened by the training in of a shoot 

 the wall as often as it ex- \ at their extremities, and managing it in 

 tends six inches beyond I the same manner as when the arms of 

 the previous shred. In i the vine first formed. It is very advis- 

 November cut the vine so | able, however, that the vine should not 

 as to leave only two buds. I be suffered to extend itself further on 

 In the second spring ma- 1 the wall, for in such case, the bearing 

 shoots emitted from the centre are sure 

 to decline in strength ; whereas, by 

 confining the dimensions of the vine to 

 a single arm on each side of the stem, 

 and each arm to the support and nou- 

 rishment of two branches only, the very 

 best description of bearing shoots will 

 never fail to be generated close at home, 



nage as before, and in the 

 November cut down to 

 three buds; the vine will 

 then appear thus : Fig. 72. 



The third spring retain two shoots, 

 treating as before. In September pinch 

 off their tops, and in November prune 

 them so as to retain some buds. 



